Despite the fact that he wrote the story that has been the standard for Science Fiction movies for over 30 years, George Lucas has always been criticized for his inability to write good dialogue.  Additionally, it seems that ventures not involving Star Wars or Indiana Jones end up being utter failures (i.e. Howard the Duck).  In `994, Lucas took another chance on a non-SW/IJ story, Radioland Murders.

When it came out in the theaters, it did not last long enough for me to see it.  Critics hated it and audiences didn’t get it.  As with Howard the Duck, everyone blamed Lucas, despite the fact that 4 people wrote the screenplay and someone else directed it.  I finally got to see it on video when it came out and was pleasantly surprised.  What I saw reminded me a lot of the movies my parents had made me watch growing up: predictable, simple story with madcap wackiness.

One of the first thing you notice in watching the movie is the amount of talent that signed up to participate, with stars ranging from George Burns to Ned Beatty.  Each actor is used to their strengths and there is not a weak one in the bunch.  Probably the one thing that helped the most in turning audiences off was casting a cable TV star as the lead: Brian Benben.  Benben was just coming off of a successful run in one HBO’s first original series, Dream On.  Mary Stuart Masterson was great as the fast-talking romantic interest.  The entire cast reflects a chemistry not often captured on film and it is a shame that many people missed this.

The story revolves around the first night of national broadcast for a fourth radio network.  As the broadcast begins, there are issues with unfinished scripts, Benben’s relationship with Masterson, and sponsors wanting out.  As the night progresses, the stakes are raised for the radio network that could be with a murder happening every so often.  What follows is orchestrated madness that is entertaining, but hectic.

Unfortunately, since the movie bombed, the DVD got the worst possible treatment: no surround sound, no extras; just the ability to jump to certain scenes.

My advice: this is a great date movie or Saturday afternoon veg movie.  While it is not a perfect movie, you will be missing a movie severely underrated.

Ivan Reitman is a frustrating director.

For every Stripes he makes, we end up with a Junior.  Don’t get me wrong, I have enjoyed a number of his movies, but it seems like some suffer some blow along the way to the big screen.  Between 1979 and 1990, it seemed that he could do little wrong.  He directed the following widely loved movies:

• Meatballs
• Stripes
• Ghost Busters
• Twins
• Kindergarten Cop

He also directed these less-than-memorable movies:

• Legal Eagles
• Ghostbusters II

These lists do not include those that he was involved with as a producer and actor.  But after Kindergarten Cop, he has only directed the following, which have not been met with the same, full love and joy as his earlier works:

• Dave
• Junior
• Fathers’ Day
• Six Days Seven Nights
• Evolution
• My Super Ex-Girlfriend

I am not sure if the difference is a change in taste for the movie-going public or him not being able to adapt his directing style to his producing style, which has a much better track record lately.

Which brings us to Evolution.

I saw this in the theaters when it came out and actually enjoyed myself.  David Duchovney plays a scientist who was discharged from the military and is relegated to teaching at community college.  His best friend is Orlando Jones, somebody who you couldn’t see a movie in the time frame of 2000-2002 without seeing him.  A meteor hits the earth and starts sprouting new alien growth.  Julianne Morre, Sean William Scott, Ted Levine (Silence of the Lambs, Monk), Ethan Suplee (Mallrats, My Name Is Earl), and Dan Akroyd join in on the fun.

This is a movie that is right out of the old “B-movie, Sci-Fi” playbook — lots

of cheese and predictability.  The cast is what pulls off this movie, particularly when not worried bout looking foolish.  The main negative is that the movie itself feels oddly edited at times.  Watching the deleted scenes on DVD shows that maybe some of those scenes should not have been cut.

The DVD has the usual extras and the Deleted Scenes are well worth watching.

My advice:  Pop this in the player when you need some cheese and just want to laugh like a 15-year-old…

In election years like this one, it is easy to get drawn into partisan debates and pointing fingers.  What seems to be lost is the effect of such actions on the participants and how those things interfere with doing the job they were elected to do.

Most everyone who has watched TV over the past 10-15 years is familiar with Aaron Sorkin.  To say he is liberal is an understatement.  As the writer of this movie, did he sprinkle in stereotypical pro-liberal messages? Yes.   Does it really matter?  No.  Like his beliefs or not, Sorkin is a masterful storyteller, and the story he is telling is one of romance.

Michael Douglas plays the widowed US President who was elected without having to go through mudslinging because his wife died about a year before the election.  As he is running the country, he is also raising a daughter.  Annette Bening’s character is a lobbyist trying to get a tougher emissions bill supported by the President.  As they meet, sparks fly and romance ensues.

As the two try to navigate the rough waters of a new relationship, external factors like the re-election campaign, a competing bill, and a military action keep cropping up.  What guides Douglas’s character through is the supporting cast led by Martin Sheen and Michael J. Fox.  The relationship between Douglas and Sheen really hits home for me since it is the definition of the one I have with my buddy, Brian (I am Douglas and he is Sheen).

One of the things that I really liked is that Democrat and Republican affiliation was never mentioned for any of the characters; instead it was about the issues and the people.  Very refreshing.

The DVD has few extras.

My advice: See this movie, regardless of which party you belong to; the monologue at the end is hands-down one of the best, if not the best, monologues on film in the past 15 years.